A Super Saturday

FYI: I have been posting on this blog for almost six years, and this is blog post number 800. 

Daphne was busy at school with her band students for most of Saturday. Char was sad that Mom was missing all the fun, and she asked me to update Daph with texts and pictures throughout the day. I'd thought I'd share them here, too.

Char's having a blast taking a drama class at the Des Moines Community Playhouse. I suspect that athletics will not be her forte. Here's our poser posing on the Playhouse's stairs.

One of Char's favorite places to eat is at the buffet at Prairie Meadows Casino. It's been a few months since we have been there, and Char was disappointed that all of the autographed rock posters and signed guitars had been removed from the hallway. She did like the new photos hung by the buffet's entrance. Char wanted me to take a picture of her pointing out the cardinal for Daphne. Cardinals are special because they symbolize the memory of Grandma Deb.

Some people place slices of cucumbers on their eyes to reduce swelling and puffiness. Char prefers the potato round treatment.

I needed to stay on the east side of town because I was going to surprise Charlotte by taking her to the Shriner Circus at the fairgrounds. Bass Pro Shops is close to both Prairie Meadows and the fairgrounds, and there quite a few things to do and see there. 

When we pulled into the parking lot, Char read the building and asked, "Who would go inside to see Outdoor World?"

That was a good question, and all I could say was, "Well, we're going to."

The space inside is decorated with all kinds of taxidermy.

Char thought the displays were neat after I lied explained that all the animals had died a natural death. When I was a kid in the 70's my parents would take me to the West Sioux hardware store in Sioux Falls, SD. The store had several mounted animals on display behind glass. I always thought that store was cool and weird at the same time. Bass Pro gave me that same feeling. West Sioux closed its doors in 1981, and you can now see the stuffed animals at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls.

I couldn't get Charlotte to pose by the grizzly bear standing on his hind legs. Even in death he was too scary. She would pose by the huge fish tank, though.

She liked the statue that greets customers near the Fish Bowl bowling alley.

She's trying to look tough while test driving sunglasses. 

We pretended to fish off the back of one the display boats.



Here's what Char caught and released.

Then it was time for my big surprise. I wouldn't tell Char where we were going at first. I wanted her to guess.

"A movie?"

"Nope," I replied.

"A show?"

"No," I countered,  "but it is like a show."

"The circus!" 

"Yes! But how did you guess?"

"You said it was like a show, and the circus is like a show."

"A lot of things are like a show."

Char turned her head to look out the window, "Not the way a circus is."

We made agreement. I would buy her anything she wanted to eat, but I wasn't going to buy a plastic sword, a blow-up animal, or a huge balloon. During the intermission I bought her a (What! Are-you-kidding-me! Ten dollars for a cup of melted sugar?!) large bag of cotton candy.

There is no way to eat cotton candy without making a mess. By the time the bag was empty, she had grown a cotton candy beard and was wearing cotton candy gloves. I would have taken a picture, but I was too busy trying to clean her up with napkins I had soaked in the drinking fountain. Circus-made wet wipes really don't work very well, by the way.

We attended this circus 2014, but I forgot how loooong it is. We arrived a little after 2:00, the show started at 2:30, and we left at 5:35. Three and a half hours is a lot circus for your money, but there's quite a bit of downtime.

The Shriner clowns throw free t-shirts in the crowd after the intermission, and Charlotte was given a shirt four years ago.

She got lucky again this year. The circus was packed when it began, but by the time intermission was over about half of the crowd had packed it in. We had just moved to an empty row when a shirt landed a few seats from us. No one else was there to snag it.

I tried to buy a McDonald's Happy Meal on the way home, but the Johnston McDonald's was out of Chicken McNuggets. How does that happen? Someone really dropped the ball. Luckily, Char was happy to go to Burger King where they have their head in the game. Take that, Ronald.

Charlotte finally got some screen time when we got home.

Daphne opened the door at 7:00, and Charlotte excitedly told her all about the "best daddy-daughter-day ever!" As the two talked, I walked downstairs in triumph.

And there you have it. That's little story #800.

As Seen at Hy-Vee

"Which danish do you want?"

"Is the one on the right half price? It's already half off."

Seriously, who steals half a danish?

Breakfast with Earl

On Mondays and Thursdays Daphne's jazz band has morning practice, and she has to leave the house by 6:30. Char gets screen time with my work computer while I get her breakfast and her ready for school.

Since I was feeling under the weather this morning, Earl helped Char play JackSmith at coolmath.com.

It's not a bad way to start your day.

As Seen in the Walmart Parking Lot

Now I don't feel so bad about forgetting to put my socks in the laundry hamper.

Have You Seen The Breadman?

They just released the names of this year's Oscar nominees. For the past several years, neither Daphne or I had seen any of the nominated films because they weren't produced by PBS Kids. This year we have seen some of the animated features.

Char has seen The Boss Baby, and all three of us enjoyed Coco and Ferdinand. I didn't recognize The Breadman. I bet you don't either.

The title is supposed to be The Breadwinner. 

The Breadman is a whole different story...

The Pineapple Jackpot

Charlotte has read that pineapples are best when they are golden yellow. When she spotted this one at HyVee yesterday, Char tugged on my coat sleeve and exclaimed, "Dad! It's a perfect pineapple! We hit the pineapple jackpot!"

Charlotte found Daphne and excitedly told her about the discovery, but Mom had a hard time understanding what jackpot Charlotte was talking about. I explained that Charlotte had found a pineapple that she wanted to show her. As we turned to follow Charlotte, I leaned over Daphne's shoulder and sang,

"It's real yellow
Char says "Hello"
Come on home with me you pine fellow.*" 

I don't how I came up with parody lyrics for "Bust a Move", but Daphne laughed out loud. 

I was pretty proud about that. 

Oh, and Charlotte was right. We had the pineapple at dinner, and I told Char it was the best one I ever had ever eaten.

She was pretty proud about that.

* Apologies to Young MC.

New Project!

I don't know what I was exactly doing at the time, but I remember thinking last week, "I wish I had a new bike project. I miss working on bicycles."

Goodwill fulfilled that wish last night. I spotted a complete, but neglected 1979 Schwinn Suburban that I couldn't walk away from. It was a daddy-daughter night, so once I had it home I only had time to fill the tires with air so the bike was easier to move.

I haven't measured it yet, but this ten speed looks like it has the diminutive 17" frame. If you were trying to find a vintage steed this small, you could have a hard time. This bike sports standard 27" rims despite its petite size. New tires and tubes should be easy to find.

The basket is a nice touch, but it might be too big.

The camera's flash belies the amount of dirt and grime, but that's an easy fix. Also, steel wool will remove the light surface rust on the chrome. I'm looking forward to washing and waxing that frosty blue paint.

The original Schwinn saddle will probably have to go. It's heavier than it is comfortable. Surprisingly, the generator and the rear light both work. I'll store them for a future project.

The same goes for the "Up Periscope!" headlight. 

I refurbished a project bike like this three years ago. That was a good time, and I sold the bike to someone who really wanted it. I'm curious to see how this one comes out.

Fine Dining

"Cooking well doesn't mean cooking fancy." Julia Child

I heard a rumor that Char wanted to make dinner last night. I just didn't know Chef Charlotte would be making an appearance.

With a little bit of instruction from the Head Chef...

... dinner began being prepared.

Voilà!

Actually, she could have stopped there; I like butter and cheese sandwiches. She kept going, though, and I got two turkey and cheese sandwiches with a side of cottage cheese. The chef offered to warm them up à la microwave, but sometimes I really enjoy a simple, cold sandwich. Or two. With lots of butter.

"Cheers to the Chef!"

Hey! That's no place to hang up your apron.

Sorry Sista

Why is there an image of a woman shaving her face on my can of Gillette shaving gel?

Look:

The instructions clearly indicate that this shaving gel is intended for the face, and the slogan "The Best a Man Can Get" is defiantly aimed at males. 

So why the female image?

Is this a subliminal reversal of the Secret ads from the 70's?

Gillette Gel: "Gentle enough for a woman, but made for a man. Sorry Sista."

Doesn't really work, does it?

The really weird part is that I buy these shaving gel cans in packs of three. I'm on my sixth can, and I just noticed this gal yesterday.

Weekend Notes

I had Charlotte to myself on Saturday. We had lunch at Fuzzy's Tacos. Char likes the nachos, and I tried the steak fajitas. The food was really good, but man, that restaurant is always cold. 

We crossed the street to the Science Center of Iowa after lunch. Charlotte wanted a picture in front of the dinosaur.

She has met this Daspletosaurus before, but she was only three years old then. The girls were showing off their dino-snarls.

We also spent some time in the Star Theater. You can lay on the floor and watch programs about history, science, and space projected on the dome ceiling. After a few short videos, the theater emptied, and Charlotte asked, "Dad! We're the only ones in here. Can I run around in a circle on the floor?"

"Ummmm.... yeah, I guess. I don't see any reason why you can't."

Action shot:

It was also a movie weekend. We watched Paddington at home on Friday night because Charlotte and Daphne wanted to see the sequel that is playing at Flix. I just wanted to go to Flix, so that worked out for everyone. We saw Paddington 2 on Sunday, and we all agreed it was better than the original. What a great family film: lots of humor, action, and I may have even teared up a little at the end it was a very good time. More than a few people clapped when the credits rolled.

Char and I checked out Middle School: The Worst Years of my Life from the library, and we all watched that on Saturday night. We hadn't heard of the movie before; Charlotte chose it strictly because of the title. When it was over, Daphne nailed the description when she said it was Diary of Wimpy Kid and The Sixth Sense mixed together. There is a reveal in the movie that hit us both a little hard.

Oh, we also have been watching the Netflix series, The Worst Witch. Think Harry Potter meets 90's Dr. Who special effects with a cast that is mostly female 'tweens. It's good spirited fun. (See what I did there?)

We didn't have school on Monday, but it was bitterly cold outside. We got some exercise by walking the Valley West Mall. We haven't been in that building for years. After walking a few laps, we had lunch at Jimmy John's.

Char deconstructed her turkey and cheese sandwich, and then used the bun as a puppet...

Sigh. I know. I know. She's my kid...

Two Things

Charlotte was pretty quiet on the way to school today. By the time we crossed the interstate, I asked her what she was thinking about.

“You’ll never guess.”

I guessed cats, candy, school, art class, school friends, and boys (who are yucky).

Each guess was denied. Stumped, I gave in. “Okay, I give up. What are you thinking of?”

“Two things,” she replied, ”robbers and hypnotism.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have ever guessed that.”

“Told you.”

“Char, these are your first steps…” Obi-Wan Kenobi

Charlotte is a fan of Calvin and Hobbes, and she likes this shirt that I bought in Canada two summers ago.

I was excited to show her the scene from The Empire Strikes Back that inspired the shirt's design, but she wasn't interested at all. She was only five then.

This year Charlotte's ballet dance at the mall coincided with the opening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. As previously noted, Charlotte wanted to celebrate her dance by eating at the Flix movie theater.

Much of the Flix lobby was sectioned off for the Star Wars fans, and many were dressed in costume. Charlotte was really intrigued with all of the characters, and she was happy to stand inside a Death Star decorated for the holidays.

Charlotte gave me this for Christmas.

She was flattered when I showed her that I had framed it, "I didn't know you were going to do that with it, Dad."

"Why wouldn't I?"

Daphne and I have been trying to decide if Star Wars would be too intense for a seven-year-old. There's no way I'd show her Episodes I, II, or III because then I have to watch them, too. I think we will have to begin with Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope. The Internet agrees:

Looks like we should plan a movie night at home pretty soon!

I really hope it goes well. 

And the Winner for Best Toy of 2017 is....

.... the Box!

No, not that type of box:

This type of box:

Charlotte didn't get stacks of huge gifts, but she was quick, however, to snag everyone else's boxes.

She and her Uncle Chris built this box "house" together after all the gifts were opened. They added another box "apartment" after this picture was taken.

Char spent hours inside her house. Every so often you hear a small voice deep from the cardboard depths say, "Excuse me? Can I have string cheese?" and a little hand would emerge from a crack or a "door".

You'd fill the hand with a tube of twisted yellow and white cheese, and then it would disappear with a muffled, "Thanks, Dad!"

Add this to my list of "Parent Cliches/ Universal Truths":

1. Time flies.

2. They grow up faster than you think.

3. If they are quiet, you are probably in trouble.

4. Just because they liked eating it (carrots, broccoli, shrimp...) today doesn't mean they will eat it tomorrow.

5. They'll play with the box as much as the toy that came in it.